vs AFC Bournemouth
With Arsenal having overtaken Manchester City to claim first place in the league, the streets of London had already turned into a festival.
After all, with the form Arsenal was in, there was no chance they would lose the thirty-eighth round of the league at home. Facing a mid-to-lower table side like Bournemouth, the thought of defeat never even crossed anyone’s mind.
“···Heh.”
I was heading home while rewatching one of Jia’s streams, soaking in the atmosphere of the streets.
Just as I was nearly there—
“Hey! It’s Yujin!”
“What? Where?”
“Is Yujin really here?”
Fans had spotted me. Our eyes met, and I slipped my phone into my pocket, greeting them with a smile.
“I’ve got to get to bed early, so I’ll only stay for about ten minutes.”
Mentioning my age like that made the fans burst out laughing.
“Yujin. Do you really hate Manchester City?”
“I don’t hate them. It’s just part of the game.”
Calling Manchester’s owners red at the end had been a little out of anger, sure, but I never faced Man City with any real grudge. I strictly considered it part of the match. Of course, I had no intention of doing every game that way. It only wasted energy before kickoff and never really changed anything.
“You didn’t actually fight with Kell, right?”
“No. He came over and apologized after the final whistle.”
If you searched online right now you would find it—after the match, Kell had approached me first to apologize. I had no reason not to accept it, so I did. Kids grow by fighting, and men supposedly get closer by fighting, or something like that?
We actually got along pretty well.
I even felt like Kell and I had become decent friends.
“Thank you!”
“You’re welcome.”
I finished the fan service smoothly and headed home.
“Yujin, you’re back?”
“Yeah. I’m home.”
I sank deep into Jia’s arms and closed out the day.
With Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona already confirmed as champions of the Bundesliga and La Liga respectively, public attention had lately swung hard toward the still-undecided EPL title race.
Other articles managed to pull some aggro for a moment, but it was brief.
Before anyone realized it, the final round that could decide Arsenal’s place at the top of the league had arrived.
Before the match against AFC Bournemouth, tension hung thick inside the locker room. With first place in the league on the line in the coming game, no one could completely hide their nerves.
“Enjoy the match.”
Manager Alexandro started with light words and slowly eased the players’ tension. As the nerves drained away one by one, I struck up a conversation with Simon beside me.
“If we win this, it’s the league title.”
“We’ve already climbed this far, huh.”
“Of course. We built it all together.”
“All together… Yeah. That’s right.”
“You’re not nervous, are you?”
“The days of getting nervous are long gone.”
After talking for a while we rose from our seats and prepared to enter the pitch. In truth, the only preparation left was our mindset.
We have to win.
An EPL title. Right now it still didn’t feel real, so it hadn’t fully hit me—but the moment we actually won, a different kind of emotion would surely come flooding in.
“We’re going to win, right?”
“Of course. We’ve got you, Yujin.”
“You’ve got Simon too.”
“Haha. Yeah. Thanks.”
We walked out slowly, took in the fans filling Emirates Stadium, and took our positions.
Beeeep—!
The fateful thirty-eighth round of the league kicked off.
All nine matches of the thirty-eighth round began simultaneously. While Manchester City traveled to face Wolverhampton, Arsenal hosted the relatively easier AFC Bournemouth at home.
[Arsenal versus Bournemouth. Arsenal are currently top of the league, correct?]
[That’s right. Arsenal, who were mid-table not long ago, have somehow risen to first.]
[They’re on an unbeaten run right now, aren’t they? There’s a reason the fans are going wild.]
Just as expected before the match, Bournemouth came out with a two-bank defensive setup from the opening whistle.
[Bournemouth’s two banks of defense. This is hard to break down. You have to collapse that shape, but it’s not as easy as it sounds.]
Arsenal’s formation was 4-4-2. Even with the fullbacks pushing all the way up to join the attack, Bournemouth’s defensive line held their positions without the slightest movement.
[If Arsenal lose the ball here it gets dangerous, you know? Thankfully they’re circulating it safely.]
[Hong Seoin’s keeping with those long arms and legs. Wow, no matter how many times you see it, it’s astonishing. Arsenal’s football these days is beautiful!]
[Padraig spots Baek Yujin and plays it straight away! Baek Yujin turns the moment he takes the touch! He slips the ball right through the defender’s legs!]
[Clean escape from pressure. Baek Yujin—has he been a ten-year veteran or what!]
Having shrugged off the press with practiced ease, Baek Yujin drove forward, confirmed there was no passing lane, and struck a shot.
[Baek Yujin’s surprise long-range shoooooot!! Ah—punched clear! Harry clears it!]
[It looked perfectly struck off the instep, what a shame!]
It didn’t go in, and Arsenal soon regained possession to restart the attack.
[Arsenal build patiently. Careful not to get hit on the counter.]
Wright and Hong Seoin exchanged the ball low while building from the back. With only two attackers pressing, Hong Seoin slipped free with ease, drove forward, and suddenly launched a long pass—not out to the wing, but straight ahead.
[A pass toward Baek Yujin! There are so many players around him—was that a mistake? Or is there some intention!]
The reason became clear a moment later. Baek Yujin dropped deep to meet the short long ball, trapped it with the sole of his foot while turning, and looked up at goal.
[Two defenders in front! Less than thirty meters to goal! He has to decide fast!]
After a quick scan of his options, Baek Yujin played it to Simon, who was breaking the line.
[Exquisitely not offside! He can shoot or he can pass!]
A fifty-fifty chance of scoring or messing it up. In that situation, Simon chose to pass to the team’s future.
[He plays it to Baek Yujin in a great position!! Baek Yujin immediately shoooooot!!!]
Thwack—!
It sat perfectly on the instep. Given the distance, a strike with that much power simply could not miss—unless the opposing goalkeeper was a god.
[GOOOOOOAL!!!! Baek Yujin buries the opener against Bournemouth!!]
[Arsenal take another step closer to the title!!! Are they going to finish first in the league!!!]
As Baek Yujin celebrated, the home fans roared. Watching him from afar as he sprinted in that direction, Simon felt something almost dazzling.
This is the future.
He was not the past—he was the future. Not a player who made you think of Bergkamp, but one you could only understand once you accepted he was beyond Bergkamp.
At this level…
It was more than satisfying, wasn’t it?
While the stadium celebrated as if the match were already won, other match updates reached the commentators’ ears.
[Ah, breaking news—Manchester City have taken the lead.]
[Dove’s goal, right? He must have been carrying a bit of frustration.]
Yet Manchester City scoring changed nothing for Arsenal. All Arsenal had to do was win. They didn’t need to worry about goal difference or anything else—just beat Bournemouth.
And right then, Arsenal’s tactics began to shift, little by little.